The present invention relates to the field of switching power supplies.
An off-line power supply receives power from an alternating-current (AC) source and provides a voltage-regulated, direct-current (DC) output that can be used to power a load. An exemplary off-line power supply includes a power factor correction (PFC) stage and a DC-to-DC converter stage. The PFC stage receives the AC input signal, performs rectification and maintains current drawn from the AC source substantially in phase with the AC voltage so that the power supply appears as a resistive load to the AC source. The DC-to-DC converter stage receives the rectified output of the PFC stage and generates the voltage-regulated, DC output which can be used to power the load. The rectified output of the PFC stage is typically at higher voltage and is more loosely regulated than the output of the DC-to-DC stage.
It is desired to provide an improved switching power supply.